Bulking offense

Royal soccer works to maintain strong defense, build O-game

ROYAL CITY — The Royal High School girls soccer team isn’t a bunch of beginners. “We actually have a decent group of seniors,” said Head Coach Jens Jensen. “There's eight, I believe, we may have added a ninth, but we’ve got a decent group of seniors.” Most of his girls haven’t played club soccer, meaning in youth leagues outside of school, he added. The roster is indeed skewed toward upperclassmen; of 19 players, only three are freshmen and one a sophomore. That experience looks likely to pay off, said senior defender Haley Piercy. “I think our forwards are really strong,” she said. “And then we also have experienced defenders.”...

Seven Bays Fire 0% contained, evacuations issued

DAVENPORT - A press release on Sept. 6 by the Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team brought an update on the Seven Bays Fire just north of Davenport. The Seven Bays Fire, started on Sept. 4, is located approximately 15 miles northwest of Davenport and has burned approximately 1,000 acres of rangeland, stubble and scattered forest lands, the release said...

Aloha summer

Marvericks cross country runners start the year with a lei up

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Cross Country team will begin the season out of its home state, traveling to the Iolani XC Invite hosted on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. “My seniors started planning this trip when they were freshmen,” Moses Lake Cross Country head coach Larry Dagnon said. “They started a year ahead of time, almost all of them had their money, and then it got canceled last year and the year before, and now we’re finally going.” Before the pandemic, the trip sent runners to Hawaii every two years for the meet, before the meet was canceled in 2020 and 2021...

Creating team chemistry

Broncos build new roster on the court

RITZVILLE – After losing seven seniors to graduation from last year’s team, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos are entering the 2022 season with a roster full of new faces. The Broncos finished 2021 with a 13-7 record, qualifying for the 2B State Tournament in the process. Now, coming into the 2022 campaign, head coach Cari Galbreath has her work cut out for her...

Senior activities calendar for September 2022

Seniors around the Basin can get out of the house and have fun with friends by participating in the activities below.

Quincy man killed in Monday collision identified

QUINCY — The Grant County Sheriff’s Office has identified a Quincy man who died when the car he was driving ran off the road and hit a utility pole Monday. Eduardo Diaz Magana, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, which was reported at about 3:30 p.m. Monday in the 20500 block of Road 6 NW, according to a GCSO statement. Diaz Magana was driving east when he apparently lost control, skidded off the road and hit the utility pole. His car then hit a car parked in front of a residence, rolled and came to rest on its top against a commercial flatbed trailer...

Grant County Fair youth ag competition results

MOSES LAKE — While the week of the Grant County Fair means many things to many people, for lots of young people across Grant and Adams counties, fair time is about competition. Hundreds of young people entered animals at the year’s county fair. Young ag enthusiasts brought everything from pigs to rabbits, to show off their skills in raising animals for food and for show. Below is a list of all the grand champions, reserve grand champions, judges' choice and best of section awards given out to FFA, 4-H and Grange students at this year’s fair, courtesy of the Grant County Fairgrounds...

Meet the Herald part 1:

Leadership and Administration

The Columbia Basin Herald is made up of local staff that work hard to keep the community informed on local issues and events. We value transparency and, with that in mind, we thought we would introduce ourselves to our readers. Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing introductions like those below for all of our staff. We want you to know us and why we care about the communities we live in here in Grant and Adams counties. Our first set of introductions is for our leadership team and those staff that assist readers directly with distribution and customer service.

Grape Dr. roundabout nears completion

MOSES LAKE — Construction of the roughly $2.3 million roundabout at State Route 17 and Grape Drive is scheduled for completion this week. “Crews will return later in the fall for beautification work,” wrote Justin Hammond, engineer on the project for the Washington State Department of Transportation, in response to an emailed question from the Columbia Basin Herald. “The project is moving forward and there haven’t been any holdups,” Hammond wrote. “Work was paused during the week of the (Grant County) Fair. Since then there has been a lot of ‘invisible’ work happening outside the roadway on items like sidewalk and electrical systems.” As of Friday, most but not all of the sidewalks have been completed. Some but not all of the road has been paved. The two lanes on SR 17 are partially open. The roundabout itself has a pile of rocks in the middle, and those will stay where they are. Hammond wrote and added that the rocks have a purpose. “The mound of rocks in the center is actually working as intended to limit visibility. The idea is that the driver entering the roundabout shouldn’t need to see any vehicles beyond the mound, since they only need to check their left side for vehicles to yield to,” Hammond wrote. “Any car making a left turn would be traveling slow enough that the entering driver won’t have a conflict.” The roundabout replaces the traffic light at the intersection. When completed it will have two lanes in each direction on SR 17 and one lane in each direction on Grape Drive. Two roundabouts are tentatively planned for the region in 2023, one at the intersection of White Trail Road and State Route 28 west of Quincy, and one at SR 17 and Cunningham Road at the entrance to Othello. Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at [email protected]. ...

Spokane Aerial Performance Arts comes to Wheat Land

RITZVILLE - The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair hosted a performance by the Spokane Aerial Performance Arts on Friday. “You’re lifting your body with the finest muscles in your body,” said owner Sherrie Martin as she pointed to her wrists. “As opposed to your legs that normally lift you.” The group had several performers who awed the crowd with their skills. With a couple of long and thick yellow silk ribbons, suspended from a stand similar to those that hold swings on playgrounds, performers climbed up the silk to about 20 feet in the air and dangle in different positions. Climbing up the silk and each position was held, through wrapping or tying of the silk...

Mavericks earn first win of the year

Tigers fall with 21-14 final score on Friday

EPHRATA – The Moses Lake Mavericks earned their first win of the 2022 campaign, defeating Ephrata on the road 21-14 on Friday night. “Ephrata played a great football game,” Maverick head coach Brett Jay said. “Coach (Patrick) Mitchell, had them coached up. No. 4, Hendrick, he’s a dude, man. He made play after play.” Moses Lake tight end/defensive end Tell Rathbun, receiver/defensive back Joel Middleton and running back/linebacker Jonah Robertson all reached the end zone in the win, with quarterback Travis Hendrick scoring both of Ephrata’s touchdowns. Following a bad snap on fourth down for Ephrata, Moses Lake began their first offensive drive on the Ephrata 33-yard line. The Mavericks opened scoring with quarterback Brock Clark finding Rathbun in the right side of the end zone for a 7-0 lead after the converted extra point.

Broncos beat Colfax

Lind-Ritzville brings home the W for season opener

RITZVILLE - The Lind-Ritzville Broncos brought the heat Friday night in their season opener against Colfax, running away with a 35-12 victory. “We have a lot to work on but we're very happy to start the season with a win,” said junior running back Brock Kinch. Despite the big victory, the beginning of the game saw Colfax and Lind-Ritzville neck and neck. Lind-Ritzville started the game, pushing little by little toward the end zone before an interception by Colfax about two and a half minutes into the game foiled the Broncos' progress. Colfax made several pushes before making a touchdown with six and a half minutes left in the game. The two-point conversion failed however for Colfax when their quarterback was sacked but gave them a 6-0 lead over Lind-Ritzville. Kinch leveled the playing field with a touchdown three minutes later but took a one-point lead with a successful extra kick by senior quarterback Chase Galbreath. The Broncos were leading 7-6 when Colfax’s JJ Bodey made an 89-yard kickoff return touchdown. Again, Colfax’s two-point conversion failed but left them 12-7 over the Broncos going into the second quarter...

Desert Golf Classic coming Sept. 15

Fundraising tourney set to raise funds for new Samaritan campus

MOSES LAKE – The Samaritan Healthcare Foundations’ annual Desert Golf Classic will see its 21st showing on Sept. 16 at the Links at Moses Pointe, raising money for the foundation’s BuildCommunity campaign “It's one of our annual fundraiser events to raise money for whichever campaign we're doing that year,” Samaritan Healthcare Donation Specialist Alayna Webb said. “So this year, and last year, this is for our BuildCommunity campaign for a new medical campus.” As the local community continues to grow, Webb said that Samaritan Healthcare hopes that the medical campus will help alleviate some of the stress that comes with operating in a smaller location...

Wahluke football wins season opener, 21-19

Team tears apart Grandview’s early lead

MATTAWA — The Wahluke High School football team stopped Grandview’s extra-point attempt on the next-to-last play of the game to win its season opener, 21-19 during their first at-home game Friday. “We fought back and did what we needed to do,” Coach Anfernee Cortez said. “I was really pleased with my team continuing to fight.” The Warriors came back from a 13-0 deficit against a 2A team, and Cortez said he liked the team’s reaction when they fell behind...

Two killed in I-90 accident on Saturday

MOSES LAKE — Two people were killed in a head-on collision on I-90 late Saturday when a vehicle going the wrong way in the eastbound lanes slammed into an eastbound car just before 8 p.m., according to the Washington State Patrol. In a press release issued late Saturday, the WSP said Duane Lamotte, 54, of Spokane, was driving a 2014 Dodge Ram pickup westbound in one of the eastbound lanes of I-90 when he collided head-on with a semi driven by Hoa Duong, 54, of Medical Lake. According to the WSP, Huong changed lanes in an attempt to avoid a collision but failed to avoid being struck...

Upcoming election dates of note

Grant County Sheriff candidates Joe Harris, left, and Joey Kriete addressed a meeting of the Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors on Sept. 1. The candidates spoke on subjects including drugs and theft problems, logistical ways to make the Grant County Sheriff’s Office operate more effectively and the need for more deputies.

Warden relaunches Community Days

WARDEN - Gary Olson, grand marshal of this year’s Warden Community​​​ Days parade, waves from the back of his 1964 Cadillac convertible — “The last year they made them with fins!” he said. The owner of a small farm and a local construction company, Olson was the grand marshal for the first Community Days parade and festival in 2019, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s festivities included a car show, a talent show, a community meal, a fireman’s breakfast, the parade, and an afternoon of fun and volleyball in Warden Volunteer Park.

Knights win season opener 34-6

Delarosa hauls in three touchdowns

TOPPENISH – The 2021 Class 1A state champion Royal Knights kicked off the 2022 season with a 34-6 win over the Toppenish Wildcats, courtesy of an offensive outpour by receiver Edgar Delarosa and quarterback Dylan Allred. “It feels good,” Royal head coach Wiley Allred said. “It feels nice to play a tough, quality opponent, and we got plenty to work on and plenty to learn from.” The game began with a fumble by the Wildcats, recovered by Royal defensive back Caden Allred. On the Knights' ensuing drive, quarterback Dylan Allred threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage...

'Far West' art show headed to Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE - Artist Mihail Kivachitsky will be returning to Soap Lake Sept. 2-5 to host another art show, this time featuring new pieces. “This is special,” Kivachitsky said. “This is a document of real time.” The art show, “Far West,” will feature some pieces from the previous show that was held in Soap Lake over the Fourth of July weekend along with new pieces inspired by the landscape of the Columbia Basin and West Coast of the United States...

GCSO candidates speak at Realtors association

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Sheriff candidates Joey Kriete and Joe Harris addressed a meeting of the Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors on Thursday, covering a range of topics including drugs and theft, as well as administrative and structural ideas for improving the function of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Realtor Tara Zerbo introduced the two candidates to an audience of 25 people over lunch at the Porterhouse in Moses Lake. Each candidate spoke for about 15 minutes, then the two fielded questions from the audience. Both discussed their history in law enforcement and agreed that more deputies are needed to cover Grant County as it continues to grow...